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Cleaning bus bars

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by avoice217, Oct 31, 2023.

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  1. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    No Brian, just a laptop. I don't own any tablets.

    So a little update: the good news is that I was able to use the paper clip method on 4/13 to clear all the U codes. Bad news is that despite all my efforts, C1259 & C1310 remain. This means that I'm gonna have to go after a battery recharger and recondition all the modules. I was honestly hoping to avoid this til later, but unfortunately I can't avoid it anymore. Problem here is that I have to wait maybe 2 weeks to be able to afford one since my only income is doing Doordash in my area. What's worse is that I only have a truck to do this work in.

    Also I was able to get the diag downloaded after updating the latest version of Android, however when installed all it kept doing was just timing out and not showing anything but going back to the main menu. Gonna send the Autel device back since I'm still within the return time frame.
     
    #41 avoice217, Nov 14, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2023
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    58 on the ((!)) ECB light is C1259, and 51 on the skiddy-car VSC light is C1310. Neither code means any problem with the brake system: they both tell you about some problem elsewhere in the car (in the hybrid powertrain control) that the brake system just needs to know about (because those systems cooperate to do regeneration). So these codes just mean you need to get the codes that really matter, from the ECUs controlling the hybrid system. (Sadly, that means you do need to arrange access to a scan tool because those ECUs don't do blink codes.)

    What makes you think it is the battery? It could be some other issue in the hybrid powertrain control.

    Not getting the codes = rabbit holes.
     
    #42 dolj, Nov 14, 2023
  3. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    The C1259 and C1310 trouble codes are just telling you that there is a trouble code in the HV ECU. The Ancel scanner that you just bought can not retrieve these codes. Do you still have the Hyper Tough scanner that you bought at Walmart? If so, use it to read the HV system codes.

    Make sure that you keep the 12v battery fully charged.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #43 Brian1954, Nov 14, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2023
  4. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    #44 Brian1954, Nov 14, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2023
  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    #45 dolj, Nov 14, 2023
    Mendel Leisk and Brian1954 like this.
  6. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Maybe it is a counterfeit?
     
    #46 dolj, Nov 14, 2023
  7. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    Hey Brian the Hyper Tough scanner never pulled up any ecu codes. Also I literally just bought a brand new 12v battery from Walmart and have the receipt to prove it, so that for sure isn't the issue. However, I am disappointed that this Ancel obd2 scanner couldn't read the ecu codes. After doing some research, apparently only mechanic devices are able to read those codes and I'd much rather just get myself a nice used car than fork out the $ for something I'm only going to use once. I highly doubt that any local mechanic is gonna allow me to borrow their scanner to read the ecu codes.
     
    #47 avoice217, Nov 15, 2023
  8. Kiwi7910

    Kiwi7910 Junior Member

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    Just finished cleaning the bus bars on my 2007 Gen2, see the before and after pictures below...

    IMG_20231114_162955_917.jpg IMG_20231114_164627_930~2.jpg IMG_20231115_112343_573~2.jpg

    I found that the best way to remove the blue scum from the nuts was to put them all into a sealed plastic container and shake them about for 5 minutes. Blew off the dust with compressed air and then sprayed with WD-40.

    The bus bars themselves were more difficult and I was surprised how thin they are. I used a combination of chemicals, abrasives and elbow grease to finally get them clean. The best copper cleaner I found was "Silvo Silver Polish"
     
    #48 Kiwi7910, Nov 15, 2023
  9. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    Hey there, so I saw a video from some Asian guy who said to put the bus bars in a pot or pan and use water and set the water to a boiling temperature. Then put in some salt along with I think like 1/2 cup of vinegar (I believe that New Zealand uses the metric system, so its about 118 mL). Anyways boiling the bus bars literally took about 5-10 mins and they were very similar to yours. However I had to use some sandpaper after the boiling process to get them similar to yours. However, that was like almost 2 weeks ago. Currently I believe I need to replace the hv control box (which is next to the engine control box) in hopes that my issues will resolve.
     
    #49 avoice217, Nov 16, 2023
  10. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Have you given any thought to resolving the P0AA6 that you posted in another thread?
     
    #50 dolj, Nov 16, 2023
  11. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    FYI, the trouble codes are triggered and stored in the 12 to 16 different ECUs in a Gen 2 Prius. The OBD2 scanner needs to communicate with each of the different ECUs to retrieve all the trouble codes. Most scanners are not able to communicate with all the ECUs in a Prius. The Autel AP200 scanner can communicate with all the ECUs, but you said that you are unable to install the app on your phone.

    You say that you still have the mini-VCI cable that you purchased for Techstream. You can run Techstream within a victual machine on your laptop. This is the easiest way to get Techstream working on your computer. Follow the steps in post #1 for the forum linked here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-techstream-in-5-minutes.1034923/

    After following the 5 steps, Windows XP should be running within the virtual machine on your computer. With you car off, install the mini-VCI cable into the OBD2 port on your car. Turn on the car by pushing the start button twice without your foot on the brake. Then connect the USB end of the mini-VCI cable into your computer. Start the Techstream software by double clicking the Techstream icon on the desktop which will start Techstream version 12.20.024. On the left side, click on "Connect to Vehicle. Your car should be detected and answer any of the questions that pop up. Then run a "Health Check". Techstream will communicate with all the ECUs in the car and then show you a screen with all the trouble codes that are detected. Come back and post all the trouble codes OR post a screen print so that you can get further help.
     
    #51 Brian1954, Nov 17, 2023
  12. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    Hey there, so I'm not getting that error message anymore. All I have is C1259 and C1310. But like Brian said, I still have the mini vci cable and I can't seem to download the latest v18 software. I can download the v17, but my understanding is that I need v18.
     
    #52 avoice217, Nov 19, 2023
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    You do not. Any version from somewhere around V7 onwards is sufficient for a Gen 2 Prius.

    If you have newer cars you'd also like to use Techstream on, it might be convenient to have a newer version, but for your Gen 2, there is definitely no need to have the newest version.
     
    #53 dolj, Nov 19, 2023
    Brian1954 likes this.
  14. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    Hey all, so here's an update: so I've tried everything I can think of, but unfortunately all my modules won't go anywhere above 500 mAh. So I've decided to order a new OEM battery pack. I'm hoping it'll arrive sometime next week. In the meantime, even though I do have my copper bus bars, I did order some nickel plated ones, which I ended up getting for free (I decided to submit for a refund & I got a full refund without being asked to send back the nickel plated ones). So I guess my question is should I just go ahead & use the brand new nickel plated ones? I've heard different responses about these, so not really sure.
     
    #54 avoice217, Apr 10, 2024
  15. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    The new OEM HV battery will have bus bars installed on the battery modules. Do NOT replace the bus bars that come installed on the new OEM battery!

    Did you order the OEM HV battery from your local Toyota dealership? How much are you paying for it?
     
    #55 Brian1954, Apr 10, 2024
  16. avoice217

    avoice217 Member

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    Yep I did. The new hv battery set me back $2500, which is fine. At least I know I'll get more mileage out of them vs trying to waste my $ on someone local who will just try to recondition my pack when I already tried it (the only difference is that I don't have the latest technology to try it). So I'm guessing that I just put the original bus bars back on the original pack so that they can recycle the copper?
     
    #56 avoice217, Apr 10, 2024
  17. Aloe

    Aloe Junior Member

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    Is there is video or detailed write up on this?
     
    #57 Aloe, Apr 13, 2024
  18. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    See hybridautomotive.com website for details.
     
    #58 Brian1954, Apr 13, 2024
    jeff652 likes this.
  19. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    #59 PriusCamper, Apr 13, 2024
  20. Aloe

    Aloe Junior Member

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    @PriusCamper, I have a JDM 06 Prius with the EV button. Does this have any bearing to the reconditioning maintenance process? I never activated the button as I don't fully understand what the benefit is. All I understand about it is that it will force EV mode for up to a mile or so and under a certain speed.

    And thanks guys for the link, I'm reading up on it.
     
    #60 Aloe, Apr 13, 2024
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